You Said: My engraver has a cutter button that you insert the cutter into, and tighten, to lock it into place

Is this button by chance brass and have a knurled edge??

If it is like a standard adapter, it screws into the spindle like a bit would. The bit then goes through it and is held by the setscrew on the upper section. It should not be tightened too much or the burnisher/adapter will not move up and down smoothly. Only the top that holds the bit moves.

XXX Adapter top
/
/ Spring
/
XXXX Bottom that screws into the spindle.

If with the bit set as far down in the adapter as it can go and still be held by the screw, the tip does not protrude from the nose, you will have to remove the micrometer by unscrewing it.

Remember that you have to get the micrometer back to the same spot afterwords or your bits will be heighted wrong. My trick is to screw the micrometer all the way on till it stiffens. Now unscrew it till you pass '0' once then down to 10. You are now set to .010 depth and the bits should be readjusted to the '0' now set. Doing this will assure you that every time you remove the micrometer, it goes back in the same spot.

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

Yes, the button is brass...you can see it here:
http://thetaglady.com/graphics/cuttersetupwr.jpg

If you are using the machine's spring you screw it into the spindle.

If you are using the featherweight you remove it and use just the bit in the featherweight that then screws into the spindle.

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

Thanks to all who replied to my post. I was very confused about this, because the page in the manual instructing how to put the cutter into the spindle shows the cutter inserted into the cutter button. However, it also says that you should have as many cutter knobs as you have cutters, so you can leave them together and keep the settings for possible jobs to be carried out in the same conditions in the future. I couldn't figure out how (or if) the cutter knob was supposed to go on the spindle, or how to use the burnishing adapter. I finally spoke to a tech at Gravograph, who told me that you don't use the cutter knob, and you don't use a burnishing adapter with the M40. He said that the reference to cutter knobs in the manual applies to a different engraver.
I would like to thank everyone who tried to help...I appreciate it so much!

From the picture I just viewed it looks like a bottom loading collate with the top of the spindle covered, unless it is some sort of a hinged cover that does not show well in the picture.

They also have a blurb that it is auto Z sensing.

Those two things make me ask how to burnish with that machine unless you can set the spindle to a very low pressure. If it senses on every cutter-down that is possible.

Right now it is still a very valid question to me.

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

When you finally understand it completely... it changes.